Well ,I have both , and they are good. As to the gravity fed vs bottom cup, You can have more issues with leaking with a gravity fed on a pressurized cup . I personally prefer a gravity, but I also use 3M PPS system

You can attach a hose valve but it would attach at the turbine end, not the gun, on the Earlex. Been spraying 30 years, never have needed to reduce airflow with HVLP myself. The biggest difference between them. The air hose. Earlex is 25’ long, weighs 3 lbs and you can stand on it. I believe the blue hose is about 12 lbs. Otherwise, these are very well matched machines perfect for fine finishing.

Carloz, thats dependent on if you have TOO much air pressure, and with a 2 stage, I doubt that would be an issue, If you can stand the additional cost, I would advise a 3 stage or a 4, especially if your going to be spraying water base finishes, ...